A Comparative Study of HRM in Toyota and Hyundai: Focusing on Overseas Plants

This research compares the human resource management (HRM) practices of Toyota Motor Company (TMC) and Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), focusing on their overseas plants. The study examines how these companies have adapted their HRM strategies to different institutional conditions in their home and host countries. It analyzes the similarities and differences in HRM between domestic and overseas plants, highlighting the influence of path dependency and the need for adaptation. The research explores the impact of different HRM approaches on the performance of overseas plants, comparing Toyota's focus on functional flexibility with Hyundai's emphasis on numerical flexibility. The study concludes by discussing the converging divergences of HRM in the globalizing industrial world, emphasizing the absence of a 'one best way' while recognizing a converging trend towards flexibility.